Stepping In
by Sleeping Insomniac
Summary: China walks in on Hong Kong kissing his boyfriend. Cue parental freak out. Iceland/Hong Kong, England/China


While Hong Kong enjoyed the boisterous personalities of many of his friends, what he liked best about his boyfriend was his quietness. His silence made Hong Kong appreciate the sound of his voice more; Iceland didn't talk much, and, when he did, it was in heavily accented English.

Hong Kong had been attracted to him from the first time Iceland had spoken to him. He'd apologized for bothering Hong Kong and asked if he had a tissue. Hong Kong said that he did, and Iceland blushed, apologizing again, this time for his poor English. He thought that his accent was embarrassing. Hong Kong thought that it was cute. China must have been rubbing off on him.

They spent time together, enjoying each other's presence and the comfortable silences between conversations whose meanings might have been deep. When Iceland, stumbling over the English that made him so self-conscious, had timidly put his hand on top of Hong Kong's and asked him to be his boyfriend, Hong Kong threaded his fingers through Iceland's and answered, "_Ja_."

It was their secret, of course.

China's house was silent as Hong Kong and Iceland came in, heading upstairs to Hong Kong's room. Normally, the quiet they shared was comfortable, but in China's house, always bursting with life and activity, the silence was strange.

"You're going to visit Russia today?" Hong Kong asked once they were in his room. Iceland nodded, putting a hand over his mouth to hide a short cough.

"He's been very kind to me," Iceland said carefully. Hong Kong sat on his bed and looked up at his boyfriend expectantly until he sat beside him. "Ah...a little strange, but kind."

"That's what I think, too," Hong Kong said, "but China thinks he's stranger than he is kind."

"...So do I." Iceland coughed again. Hong Kong reached into his backpack and pulled out a bag of cough drops. Wordlessly, he held them out to Iceland, who flushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

Iceland put a cough drop into his mouth and folded his hands in his lap, looking away. Hong Kong recognized the signs of his boyfriend's being deep in thought and did nothing to break the silence; he took long, deep breaths and let the air out of his mouth as carefully as he'd taken it in. There was a soft click of the cough drop against Iceland's teeth, and, judging by the way his jaw moved back and forth, Hong Kong guessed that he was rolling the lozenge around with his tongue. Iceland dropped his gaze to his hands, and his lips parted; Hong Kong could see his tongue flick to one side inside his mouth. The cough drop clicked against his teeth again.

Hong Kong slid over right next to his boyfriend and leaned towards him, kissing him. Iceland didn't even make a sound of surprise, gently returning the kiss before pulling back. Hong Kong resisted the urge to sigh; their kisses were always short and chaste. As Iceland drew back, Hong Kong slipped a hand around the back of his neck to stop him.

"Ice?" he asked, pulling him back, and Iceland complied, as he always did, with a second short kiss, an affectionate peck.

This time when he went to pull back, however, Hong Kong's hand held him close, fingers threading through his white-blond hair. Lips still barely touching, Hong Kong looked up to meet his boyfriend's solemn, but curious, eyes.

"Emil?" he murmured, pressing their lips together and just catching sight of Iceland's blue eyes widening before he closed his own. He expected Iceland to pull back again, but he only returned the kiss. Hong Kong's eyes slid open lazily to see his boyfriend's eyes shut. Hong Kong's hand relaxed, his arm wrapping around Iceland's shoulders. This was really happening - an honest-to-goodness, slow, romantic kiss.

Footsteps sounded outside of Hong Kong's room, though no knock on the door accompanied them, and the doorknob turned. Hong Kong's eyes snapped open just as the door swung inward and China walked in, a plate of snacks balanced precariously on one hand hidden beneath a long sleeve.

"Hong Kong! I heard you come in, and I was in the kitchen, so I-"

Hong Kong and Iceland pulled back from one another abruptly, the former blushing and looking anywhere but China's face, the latter turning his body completely to face the other direction. The plate of snacks fell out of China's hand and hit the floor with an awful _clang_, and then there was silence. The cough drop clicked nervously against Iceland's teeth.

After a few agonizingly long minutes, Hong Kong looked up to see China's expression; it was worse than he expected. China's face was nearly white, his amber eyes wide, lips pressed together in a tight line. Hong Kong couldn't tell if he looked like he was going to scream or burst into tears. China had strict rules about showing affection; he was so old fashioned - though Hong Kong didn't think now was the best time to say something like that.

Iceland coughed loudly into his hand, and, though Hong Kong's eyes flickered to his boyfriend, China's eyes remained locked on him. When he'd composed himself, Iceland stood quickly and stared at the floor, face flooded.

"Mr. Russia is expecting me," he said, his Icelandic accent thickening as the words tumbled out. "I should go."

Still staring at the floor, Iceland awkwardly hurried to the door. He was just past China when the latter spoke.

"Stop."

Iceland froze, something Hong Kong might have dryly pointed out in any other situation. China's expression hadn't changed, but his voice was quiet and eerily calm.

"Turn."

Iceland turned obediently.

"Sit."

The last word slid through China's gritted teeth, and Iceland was sitting beside Hong Kong nearly faster than he could blink. China's expression was scarier now, and he stared menacingly at Iceland, who scooted away from Hong Kong to the opposite side of the bed. China stared at both of them, and another painful silence engulfed the room.

"I don't consider myself an unreasonable person, aru," China said finally, his voice still calm and quiet. "I give you many freedoms, Hong Kong. There are only certain rules I expect you to obey while you're living under my roof, aru."

"I know," Hong Kong answered as calmly as he could. Iceland looked over at him and put a hand over his mouth, coughing.

"You know, aru," China said slowly. "Yet you're here in your room, with the door closed, on your bed, kissing a strange boy I don't know."

"China, it's Iceland, I told you about him," Hong Kong said quietly, but China cut him off right away.

"You _told_ me you had made a new friend, aru! Not that you had this new, vulgar-"

"China, kissing isn't-" Hong Kong interjected, fists clenching in his lap.

"I haven't met him! I don't know the first thing about him, aru!" China's voice was getting louder. "How do you think I feel right now, walking in on this? What were you planning on doing, aru?"

"Nothing!" Hong Kong yelled, face flooding. "It was just a kiss!"

"Don't you raise your voice to me, aru!" China yelled back. "I have rules in this house, Hong Kong, whether you like it or not!"

"Then maybe I should go back to England's house!" Hong Kong said, the words falling out of his mouth before he could think better of them. China reeled backwards as if he'd been slapped. Hong Kong felt a pang of guilt, but he held China's gaze as best he could. China's lips moved, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Iceland coughed again, and stood.

"I-I really should be going...ah..."

"Sit!" China barked, and Iceland sat immediately. "You think England would handle this situation differently?" he asked. "Fine. Let's find out, aru. I'll give him a call, and we'll see what he says."

Hong Kong and Iceland obediently followed China downstairs and sat on the couch while he went to call England. Sitting in the unnatural quiet, Hong Kong felt himself tensing. Beside him, Iceland was sitting rigidly, staring straight ahead.

"Ice?" he whispered, his voice still seeming to echo in the still room. China's voice slipped in from the other room, his words barely distinguishable, but quickly delivered; Hong Kong imagined England struggling to keep up. Iceland looked down into his lap, and Hong Kong saw that his neck was red. "Ice? ...I'm sorry. This is so embarrassing. I just-"

"Are you okay?" Iceland asked sharply, and Hong Kong started.

"What?"

"Are you upset?" Iceland asked, looking up at his boyfriend. His blue eyes were hard, and Hong Kong was taken aback. He'd never seen Iceland angry before, but here he was, hands clenched in his lap, bunching up the thin material of his slacks.

Iceland coughed violently then, his body wracking, and Hong Kong slid closer to him, putting his hand over Iceland's mouth. It was promptly pushed away.

"I don't want to cough on you."

"I don't mind."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hong Kong let his hand slide up to Iceland's flushed cheek again, stroking his bottom lip with his thumb. "You don't have to worry so much about me. I can take care of myself."

"China shouldn't talk to you like that." Iceland's eyes were bright, but he relaxed against Hong Kong's light touch.

"He doesn't, really. He's just a little freaked out." Hong Kong smiled fleetingly. "He's old, you know. They tend to be stubborn and set in their ways."

"What about England?"

"He's not as old as China," Hong Kong said carefully. Iceland held his gaze. "See...my parents are together, but not together."

"What?"

"They were together, then split up, then got back together. It's really weird. They make all these big 'parent decisions' together, which mostly consists of China being super strict and England being a normal person."

Iceland didn't say anything for a minute, and Hong Kong could see by the familiar flicker in his eyes that he was calming down. Hong Kong's hand moved from Iceland's cheek, slipping under his ear and curling around the back of his neck, tilting him forward. He leaned his forehead against his boyfriend's.

"Don't worry so much, Ice."

Iceland reached up to take Hong Kong's hand in his own, intertwining their fingers as he brought their hands down to the small patch of sofa still visible between their knees.

"_Ég elska þig,_" he said. Hong Kong smiled again, this time slowly and surely.

"I love you, too."

China's impatient footsteps clacked against the hardwood coming back towards them, and Hong Kong and Iceland quickly disentangled themselves as he stalked into the room.

"He's on his way," China said.

"He didn't say anything over the phone?" Hong Kong was fairly certain that England's reaction wouldn't be as ridiculous as China's, and he suspected that China knew it, too. "You didn't tell him what happened, did you?"

"I thought you should tell him yourself, aru." China was thousands of years old, but there was a distinct spark of immaturity in the challenge his eyes held as he spoke. Hong Kong sighed.

"Great," he said, flopping back against the couch and wrapping his hand around Iceland's again. China's eyes flashed, and Iceland glanced between the two for a moment before flipping his hand over, his palm against Hong Kong's, and curling his fingers around the other's hand. Hong Kong pressed his lips together to keep himself from smiling.

"Hong Kong," China said. Hong Kong ignored him. The silence in the room grew even more awkward.

Twenty minutes later, Hong Kong saw England's car pull in the driveway. The second the car was parked, England jumped out of the driver's seat, slammed the door, and practically ran to China's front door. Hong Kong had figured China hadn't told England what the problem was. He probably just said, "Something is wrong with Hong Kong, aru," and hung up.

China was at the door waiting for him. "Good, you're here, aru," he said. As he came into the foyer, England's expression was even more startled at China's comment. When he caught sight of Hong Kong leaning over the couch's armrest to look at him, England rushed over and knelt by the couch, putting a hand on top of his head.

"Hong Kong?"

"I'm fine, England," Hong Kong said. England smiled crookedly before turning to look at China.

China, for his part, was still glaring at Hong Kong. "Well, aru?"

"China walked into my room and saw me kissing my boyfriend," Hong Kong said dully. England blinked.

"Boyfriend?"

Hong Kong hesitated. All of a sudden, he felt guilty for not telling England about Iceland. When he gestured to the boy sitting next to him, England's look of surprise faded.

"Ah, I should have known. You're good friends, aren't you?"

Iceland blushed and nodded, lips pressed together. Hong Kong knew that Iceland would be far too embarrassed to speak English in front of England himself; he was self-conscious enough about his accent.

"So that's it?" England asked, looking from Iceland to Hong Kong.

"That's it," Hong Kong answered. "Just kissing."

China put his hands on his hips.

"On your bed, aru," he added. "With the door closed."

England's head snapped to China, who lifted his chin smugly at England's horrified expression.

"_Sitting_ on my bed," Hong Kong corrected. "We weren't doing anything. There wasn't even tongue."

Iceland's face flooded, and China shot England a look of disgust.

"He didn't learn _that_ from me, aru."

"He didn't learn it from me, either!" England said. "It's in all the movies these days!"

"What movies, aru?"

"They're always like this," Hong Kong said, turning back to his boyfriend. Iceland nodded.

"Look," England said, sighing and standing up. "I get it, okay? I worry about Hong Kong, too, but I don't see why you're so upset about this. Iceland's a good kid, Hong Kong can take care of himself..." England turned to Hong Kong. "Don't shut the door. I _do_ have a problem with that." Hong Kong nodded. Satisfied, England turned back to China. "You see?"

"You're not going to back me up on this, are you, aru?" China outdid himself with the glare he set on England.

"Hey. I'm going to back you up," England said. "I'm just not going to attack Hong Kong before I hear his side of it. Just listen, all right?"

"No, _you_ listen, aru! I told you what I saw, I'm upset, and you should be, too. How do you feel, knowing that Hong Kong was in his room with a boy?"

"Like a teenager's parent?" England rubbed his temples. "Look, China, it's not like you walked in on them doing something awfu-"

"But they could have been, aru!" China stomped up to England and pushed himself up onto his toes so that he was almost eye-level with him. "If we allow this kind of physical intimacy, then we're only condoning further activity, aru!"

"Physical intim...China, you're being unreasonable," England sighed. "I don't want Hong Kong doing anything age-inappropriate any more than you do. It's just that I'm not so old that I don't remember what it's like to be young."

Iceland buried his red face in his hands, and Hong Kong smiled at him.

China folded his arms delicately. "Are you implying that I am _old_, Opium?"

England held China's gaze steadily for a moment before a smirk ghosted across his lips. "I'm not _implying_ anything, love."

China's nostrils flared, and he raised his arms over his head, beating on England's chest.

"I! Am! Not! Old! Aru!" he yelled with each hit. England burst into laughter.

"Hey, now! That hurts," he said, catching China's wrists and holding them up. "I'm sorry to tell you, China, but you _are_ old." China's hands balled into fists, but England continued. "It's what makes it so infuriating that you've managed to keep your figure."

China pursed his lips, trying to cling to his anger, but Hong Kong could see him softening at the compliment.

"I suppose I look all right for my age, aru."

"'course you do," England said soothingly, letting go of China's wrists and slipping his arms around his waist instead.

"_You_, on the other hand-"

"Just keep getting even more devilishly handsome as time goes by?" England suggested with a grin. China's affectionate smile finally overpowered his attempts at sternness.

"Please stop," Hong Kong said from the couch. "This is the most ridiculous double standard I've ever seen."

England and China disentangled themselves quickly, though England wrapped an arm around China's shoulders once he'd crossed his own arms.

"You're going to keep your door open when you have company, aru," China said.

"All right," Hong Kong replied.

"_Announced_ company."

"All right."

"And we're going to have dinner together and talk. No secrets, aru."

"All right..."

"I should know if you're dating someone."

Hong Kong looked up to meet China's eyes, which had finally softened into a look of hurt.

"I don't want to be shut out of your life, Hong Kong."

"...I know." Hong Kong paused. He'd felt guilty for not telling England about Iceland because he knew that England wouldn't overreact. Now he felt guilty for not telling China, because he understood just as well. He was just a little more old-fashioned.

"Besides," China added brightly, "I can help you now!"

"Help?"

"Of course, aru!" China put his hands on his hips. "I know a thing or two about dealing with European men, after all, aru!"

England choked and turned away, shoulders trembling with laughter. Iceland coughed loudly, covering his own chuckle. Hong Kong groaned and leaned back against the couch.

"Oh, I didn't need to hear _that_..."

China's expression became baffled.

"Nobody did," England stuttered in between poorly-hidden chuckles. China shot him an indignant look. "Come on, I'll help you make dinner."

"You most certainly will _not_, aru! And what are you laughing at, anyway?"

"They're always like this," Hong Kong said. Iceland smiled.


End file.
